Glory.
God’s glory.
It’s AMAZING to experience.
Aaron was directed by Moses to bring a sacrifice to the Lord. God gave specific instructions for the type of sacrifice and how it was to be done. Through Moses, God’s final words of instruction regarding the sacrifice concluded with:
“…today the Lord will appear to you.” Leviticus 9:4 NKJV
The people of Israel, who had been taken out from Egypt by the mighty hand of God, drew near as Aaron obeyed these words. And all the people stood before the Lord.
Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord commanded you to do, and the glory of the Lord will appear to you.” Leviticus 9:6 NKJV
The rest of the story describes the obedience of Aaron and the works he proceeded to do, as he presented the offering to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded.
The conclusion of the passage tells us that Moses and Aaron went into the meeting place with God, the tabernacle, came out and then blessed the people.
I love some of the “then’s” in the bible. When you’re reading the word of God, if you stop to take notice at the word “then,” you may find two things:
- A command to do something (if you…)
- What God will do when we obey (then I…)
(Seriously, look for them, they are so cool! Try Isaiah 58 for starters.)
In Leviticus 9:23 we see:
THEN… the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came from the Lord and consumed the animal sacrifice (God accepted it) and the people fell on their faces.
The people saw God’s glory. I imagine it was AMAZING and AWESOME!!! It wouldn’t have happened if they wouldn’t have first obeyed.
In this account, we find that OBEDIENCE PRECEDES the revealing of GOD’s GLORY. In our lives, this is also true. Our obedience to God is required before God’s glory can be revealed to us.
In this account, we also see that the revealing of God’s glory RESULTED IN WORSHIP. The people fell on their face.
I am reminded of John, the last apostle to remain after all of Jesus’ close followers were martyred for their belief in Jesus. John was allowed to see a vision of Heaven, the throne of God, and the glory which awaits us if we are believers in Jesus. John was so overcome by the things he saw that he fell down on his face and worshiped the angel that showed him these things. The angel said, “no! I’m just God’s creation like you are. Don’t worship me, worship God!” John was simply a man, and although he didn’t quite get it right, (he was tempted to worship the creation, instead of the Creator), I think his response to the glory of God was the natural overflow of our hearts when God’s glory is revealed to us. His majesty cannot be described in words, and our best response is to worship.
This causes my heart to ponder:
In what areas is God desiring my obedience, in order that he might display His glory to me?
We can be certain that what God desired to do in the hearts and lives of the people in this story could not have been accomplished without their obedience. He ordered the sacrifice so that he may bless them.
God is beckoning your obedience and my obedience. It starts with spending time with Him. You cannot hear from Him without spending time at his feet. I pray the day doesn’t come when it is against the law to have a Bible in this country. My heart’s desires is to spend time in the word of God now, while we have the freedom. He is asking for our obedience to His word so that we too may be blessed and experience a taste of His glory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AD-Lq8iNr4
Click here to see other Hidden In My Heart posts
